Diane Lane’s character, Frances Mayes, a writer (check one for similarities) unwittingly discovers that her husband is cheating on her. (check two!)

She goes through a painful divorce that leaves her depressed and completely disillusioned about life and love (another check box on the eerie similarities).

Unsure of how she will go on or ever want to get out of bed again, she’s pushed into a trip to Tuscany she has no desire to go on. (Okay, that’s not similar in any way, I chose Tuscany as a place to heal after my ordeal.)

I’m sure you’ve seen the movie and know what happens (if you haven’t I highly recommend you watch it! It’s a fantastic movie and will definitely inspire you to travel.)

My other all-time favorite movie that inspired me to travel is….

Eat, Pray, Love

Having lived in Southeast Asia, I felt a geological connection with Julia Roberts’ character, Liz Gilbert.

Her personal struggles with her unhappy marriage, career, and life, in general, were a bit close to home and I could relate with her desire to live life on her own terms, taste food, finally love herself and her imperfections.

Stepping out of her comfort zone (definitely not easy) after her divorce she discovers who she was and what she wanted in life.

She wanted to experience life (as most of us do) and find her happiness. Her self-discovery adventure took her to Italy, India, and Bali.

Bali and Italy had been two places that I had spent considerable amounts of time in and I felt very connected to the cultures AND to the character’s emotions.

The scenery in each of her travel adventures were both familiar and inspirational to me.

I could actually see, feel, smell, and taste my way through that movie.

Those experiences and observations her character experiences opened her eyes and molded her into the person she ultimately became.

Most times when we experience drastic changes or pain in our lives (just like in the movies), we have an awakening or that aha moment.

We wonder why we are living the way we do and why we aren’t out there experiencing life. We ask ourselves, why am I not happy?

Conclusion

We are drawn to people in these movies because it’s safe. Safe to feel what they’re feeling and safe to travel along with them while they’re discovering themselves and new destinations.

These movies not only inspired me to travel but to allow myself to rediscover who I am and encourage me to reach for my dreams because I deserve them!

I’m constantly discovering new movies that inspire me to travel but these two remain my go to when I want comfort or familiarity.

What are your favorite travel movies? Did a movie inspire you to travel? Reply in the comments with the movie that inspired you to travel and tell me where you went!

Marie Hernandez is a Destination and Hotel marketer, social media manager, travel writer, full-time traveler, and the founder and author behind SeriouslyTravel. Her passion for travel and food inspires her to seek new places, new cuisine, and new adventures. Her desire is to inspire everyone to explore the world; even if it's just in your own back yard.

As a kid I would always see far away places on TV and in the movies and wish I could go there. Luckily I got to visit many of them later. There was an old TV show called “Then Came Bronson” where he traveled around the US on his motorcycle and met all kinds of people. I think that had an impact on me.

I was inspired to travel when I was a kid too. Then as I grew up and before I could really travel whenever I wanted, shows like Hawaii Five-O got me itching to see other places. Thanks for your comments and happy travels to you!

After loving the book so much, I was skeptical about an Eat, Pray, Love movie, but I really enjoyed it. I need to watch Under the Tuscan Sun, but I recently got the book, so I want to read it first. My favorite travel movie is Two for the Road with Audrey Hepburn.

Yes, the books often are better than the movie. But both movies do the books justice. I’m so personally connected to the characters that it is more of an emotional connection for me. I’ll have to check out Two for the Road!